Huntress's Tale
by Amanda the Huntress
Summary: I don't know how much I will be able to say before too long, or how many will be able to see this. I just need to write it down. The world is collapsing into chaos and we're running out of time, and it's all our fault. Something ancient and powerful has been released into the world, and it's up to me now to stop it. Notch help me, I will do anything to stop this.
1. Entry One

_Notch, forgive us for what we have done. _

_We did not know this would happen. We didn't want it to turn out this way. _

_Please, help us make it right. _

_Somebody help us._

* * *

**Date: year 10181 Villager calender, the first day of summer**

**Hiding in my bunker**

My name is Huntress. I know, it doesn't seem much of a name, but it's what I chose for myself and it's what I go by. Just, please bear with me. I don't know how long I'll last now. I'm being chased, and I want my story to be told. Remembered, somehow. I've got to write quickly. But blast, where do I start?

I know that there are only seven of my kind- myself and six others. We're all close friends that have no idea where we came from or how we got here. We chose our own names, and built our own estates and cities. We were taught everything we know by the Villager race, who calls our kind Sons of Steve, or Steves for short, after the old race that lived here before we came.

It's a long story on how I ended up down here in this bunker. I hope I have time.

It began with a simple expedition into a deep cave. I was with two of my companions, Dragon and Wolf. We ran into an ancient mineshaft that cut through the cave, and the real adventure began.

There is one thing that you need to know about our kind- we do not fear death of any sort. You see, we have discovered that when we die, we reappear somewhere safe completely unharmed. A bit shaken, perhaps, and missing all of our things, but quite alive. We are also able to carry things without using our hands. I'm told it's called an 'inventory', something usually only the gods have.

I snorted when the Villager priest said that. Gods? Us? Never.

So, a trip down a dark, monster-infested mineshaft was nothing frightening. If anything, we were glad we found it. There are many treasures to be found down there. Ancient weapons, rare metals and stones, magic items... anything hard to come by could be found in these mineshafts.

We were not disappointed. Dragon uncovered an old chest filled to the brim with old, crumbling manuscripts. We all got a good look at them- they were careful instructions on how to create a Nether portal, and things that could be found in the Nether. It was decided that Dragon would hold on to the manuscripts, and when a portal was built, we would all go.

So help me Notch, I wish we had never found those manuscripts.

The Villagers were wary of us going to such a place- something we once thought was mere legend- but no one had anything against the trip. The priest at my village did grow quiet as I told him, but he gave me no sign of refusing to let us go.

I wish he had. I wish we had known sooner. By the Void, we should have known. Someone should have known. Why is it that things that happen so long ago cease to be truth and become myth, and then fairytale? If only someone had told us.

Instead, we learned too late after it was done.

It was mid-spring when I found out.

Someone was pounding on the door to my forge. It was early afternoon in my estate, and the bright sun streamed through the small windows high up on the stone brick walls. I put down my hammer, calling for whoever it was to come in.

"A message from the priest," a familiar voice said, and a white-robed Villager librarian poked his head in. I set the hammer upright on the anvil.

"What is it?"

"He says to come immediately to the church tower. Something is wrong. It's about the Son of Steve, Dragon." he said, and left.

Blinking, I shucked off my leather forging apron and left my work where it was on the anvil. The priest didn't summon me when my friends were in trouble. It was our own job to look after one another. Stepping out of the forge, I came out into the bright sun and went off into my manor to clean up.

A few minutes later, I was climbing the ladder to the second story of the church tower in fresh clothes with a bow slung across my back. I never left home unarmed.

"Have a seat," the priest said curtly, motioning to the wooden bench under the table before him. I obediently sat down, and he held up a browned, crumbling manuscript page. "Do you recognize this?" I nodded. These were the very manuscripts we had found in the mineshaft, just a few days ago.

I looked up at the priest, who was rubbing his temple with his free hand and avoiding my eyes. Something was wrong. Very wrong.

"Sir, what happened?" I asked cautiously, suddenly getting a very bad feeling. The priest sighed.

"Something that we didn't anticipate. You see..." he trailed off, and then cleared his throat. "You see, there are things in the Nether that we didn't know actually existed. Things that... well, we thought they were old children's tales. That's all we have left of the old histories..." My eyes widened.

"What things are in the Nether? What has happened?" I pronounced each word slowly and carefully. The priest met my hard gaze with his green eyes and took a deep breath, fumbling for a book under his robe. He drew out a thick volume with a leather cover, bound up with a satin ribbon. He untied the ribbon, letting it fall to the tabletop, and opened the book.

"I... I don't know how to tell you this, Huntress," the priest confessed. "I should have known the truth sooner. It is my duty, after all. The truth is, there was something much more dangerous than we expected. Ah, here we are," he said, reaching the desired page and showing me the illustration. I raised one eyebrow, looking at the priest with a gesture of impatience.

"Yes. Herobrine. The one who will get you if you don't eat your vegetables and go to bed when mummy tells you. What about him?" I couldn't keep the mocking undertone out of my voice. The priest's features darkened.

"He is quite real, Huntress," he said in a no-nonsense tone. "He is real and now he is here. The most powerful force of evil in all of known history is here, in the Overworld, and we are all in very _real _danger." That shut me up.

"The story I was able to find," the priest explained, "is that Herobrine was imprisoned in the Nether. I do not know exactly what for or when, but the Nether was meant to be a place no one ever intruded upon. He was- _is-_ the younger brother of Notch, and is very, very powerful. The banishment was supposedly for a treachery he committed against Notch's creation. The destruction he caused, according to the tale, was incredible. Huntress, I am sorry. I didn't know, and I should have. Your friend..." He trailed off again.

"No." I whispered. Then louder, "No! What happened to Dragon? Tell me!"

"He opened the portal, Huntress. We found it in the ruins..."

"Ruins!" I burst out. "By Notch, _what happened?_" My breath was quickening.

"Let me speak!" The priest snapped. "Now, I only have the report from the trading party that was going to the village near where your friend lives. The crystal city, is it?" I nodded. We had called it that for all the glass and diamond he used to make it. It was beautiful. "According to the reports, I think the chain of events went like this: Dragon opened the portal at the edge of his city. As soon as it was open, Herobrine appeared, released from his prison, along with massive amounts of energy. The parts of the city we were able to explore nearest to the portal have been transmuted to Nether materials. Knowing Dragon, he probably fought Herobrine, but we do not know what has become of him after that. He is nowhere to be found."

I sat in silence, my hands folded tightly before my face. I couldn't believe it.

"You saw Herobrine?" I prompted. The priest shook his head.

"No."

"Then how did you know it was him?" I cried. I was suddenly scared, and very desperate. If there was any chance that it was anything else, anything at all, that did this to Dragon and his city, I had to know. There was no monster in the Overworld that could defeat us, but the brother of Notch... a god...

No. It had to be something else. It had to be something we were prepared to deal with. Not this- anything but this.

"This is how we know," the priest answered, shattering my hopes. He handed me a clean sheet of parchment that had a few words written on it in neat script.

_Beware, people of Notch. The Overworld is mine. _

"This was found," the priest continued, "written on a sign outside the city. One of the members of the party copied it down. No mere beast could have written something like that. After this disaster, it can only mean one thing."

"Herobrine is back," I said, defeated. The page slipped out of my hand and fluttered slowly to the ground as I slumped on the tabletop, head in my hands. "What have we done?"

Things went downhill after that. One by one, my friends were notified, and one by one, I lost contact with them. I do not know if they were captured, or if they have simply gone into hiding. I have no way of knowing, especially not with the bind I'm in. I prayed daily to Notch that Dragon was okay. Alive, at least.

During the last few days of spring, a signpost appeared at the edge of my estate.

_Surrender or die. _

I knew exactly what I had to do.

Drumming up my courage, I packed up the things I would need and put on my armor, riding into the village with purpose. The priest saw me from atop the church tower and came rushing down to see me.

"I thought you were taken!" He exclaimed as he caught me in a tight hug after I had dismounted. I returned the hug, grateful. "Thank Notch, you're all right!"

"I need your help," I said when we at last drew apart. The priest nodded.

"What do you need?"

"The tale. I need a copy of that tale you found." I said. The priest got a haunted look in his eyes.

"Huntress," he began in a warning tone, "What are you planning to do? You can't seriously be thinking of going after Him?" I shook my head vigorously.

"Aether, no!" I answered forcefully. "I need information. You saw the signs- I can't stay here. I'm going to my castle near the Great Temple to learn what I can." The priest sighed with relief and nodded.

"I can give you the tale."

Moments later, I sat in the village library, scanning page after page that the priest put in front of me. When the sun was just beginning to sink below the horizon, I put the manuscript away in my inventory and stood to face the priest. I took a deep breath, unsure if I even had enough courage to say this out loud.

"Sir," I began, "There is something I need you to promise me." The priest looked up.

"Absolutely. What is it?" he asked.

"If Hero- if He comes here, I need you to do exactly as he says. If that means telling him where I went, fine. I don't want him to hurt anyone. He _will _come here, sooner or later. If you do what he asks, maybe he'll leave you alone." Or maybe not. But I left that part unsaid- we both knew the possibilities. The priest paled.

"Huntress, don't-"

"Do it! Anything can happen. Anything at all. I want to make sure that you have a chance. You have to promise me."

"But he could kill you!" The priest cried. "He could trap you in a place you might never escape from! Huntress, I can't-" I didn't let him finish.

"He'll kill you if you don't." My voice was low. The priest stopped. "Of course he'll kill me. But I will always come back. You won't. I don't know why that is- Notch knows that isn't fair, but it just is. If he kills me, fine. I'll just wake up safe and sound somewhere else. I don't want you to die." My voice was shaking. Fine if he kills me? Who was I kidding? Still, I was scared for the Villagers. I really didn't want them to die. I had to make the priest promise this. Slowly, he nodded.

"I swear it," he said tightly. "And I'll let the others know. I just want to protect you."

"And I want to protect you, which means you can't defend me." I said. Then I hugged the priest. "Thank you."

"Take care, Huntress," the priest said in my ear. "Notch's blessings on your trip." We parted.

"And good luck!" he called as I left.

Then I was mounted and riding hard for the castle Ember, going on through the night.

I need to sleep. I'll keep writing when I wake.

* * *

**At last, I begin the official rewrite! For all of you fans of A Minecraft Tale, here is the official reboot to fill in missing pieces and improve the general story itself. Trust me, it needed it, especially now that I am writing in the other installments to the universe such as Chronicle, the prequel, and the mysterious upcoming sequel. **

**Sooo... To my new readers... What do you think so far? Have I drawn you in? What has become of Dragon? Is he alive? What's going to happen to Huntress as she bravely goes out to find answers? Leave a favorite, follow, and/or a worthwhile review, and I promise I will update soon! Until then, I will see you next chapter! **


	2. Entry Two

**Date: Year 10181 Villager calender, second day of summer**

**Hiding in my bunker**

I didn't sleep well last night. It's tight down here in this bunker, and dark too. The only light comes from a few redstone lamps, one in each room, and there aren't many rooms. I designed this to be as small as possible so it would be harder to detect, but I need air. Badly. It just isn't safe to go out yet.

I'm having nightmares now, after what's happened. Bad ones, ones that are too vivid to be any ordinary dream. They're coming from Him. I know it. Ever since... well, I'm getting ahead of myself.

It was a hard ride through the night to get to Ember. The rain beat down on me, and the wind buffeted my cloak. By the time the sun rose, I was nearly sliding from my saddle. It was truly a relief to see the castle walls around the bend.

Opening the gate took three tries. At Ember, I had a system rigged up so that the gates could only be opened by hitting a button up on the gatehouse with an arrow. I was so tired that my arrows flew first to the left, and then to the right of the button. Finally, the gates slid into their housing, allowing me to pass.

I was in a daze that entire day at Ember. Working on instinct, I put Stardust, my horse, out into the pastures to rest, and then I went about putting away my things for a long stay. When I tripped over my own feet for the fifth time, I decided it was time to stop. Stripping off my damp cloak and heavy armor, I collapsed into bed while the sun was still high.

It was late morning before I woke again. The eastern sun was streaming in the window, straight into my eyes. I groaned, still stiff from my long ride. Cursing how out of shape I was, I somehow convinced my sorry saddle-sore bum to get up and get busy. There was no time to waste.

My cloak and armor were still on the floor. The armor was dry, and thank Notch, free of rust as well, but my cloak was still heavy with moisture. I tossed it aside and donned my mail shirt and iron leg armor, and went downstairs for my extra cloak. A weatherproofed one. I hoped that the chilly late spring rains would end soon, and then I wouldn't need it. Snatching an apple, I went outside to the Vault.

The Vault, just so you know, is the largest concentration of valuables and weapons I have stored away. I kept it at Ember since the castle was my best-protected house. It was an underground obsidian-lined chamber not unlike this bunker that held all sorts of weaponry and supplies I might need in an emergency.

This was certainly a good time.

Descending the stairs, I unearthed the hidden button and pressed it, opening up the heavy iron barricade. Once inside, I flipped a lever to turn on the lights.

I usually don't use much of what I have in the Vault. There are multiple sets of enchanted armor kept down there, and several enchanted diamond swords. I selected my best, _Firefall, _and selected a bow from the rack with a quiver of arrows that never ran out, _Skyfall. _I kept to my usual armor- it's a bad idea to change out of what you are used to, especially in times like these. Flipping off the lights behind me, I went back up into the open air and left Ember by the posterior gate. I was off to my first destination.

The Temple of Notch is a place that lies very close to Ember, close enough to reach on foot. I walked down the slightly overgrown path through the forest and up the hill where the forest broke ended and opened up to a clear plain. Before the hill was a large village, larger than the one near FireForge mansion and my home estate. Beyond that was the line of the mountains, and on the crest of one straight cliff were the spires of the Temple itself. Part of the temple was carved into the mountain rock, but the sanctuary and all its splendor are above ground. I made my way down the hill.

The village was quiet as I passed through. Most of the villages had received the news by now, that He was back. Everyone gave me fearful and worried glances, and one child came up nervously to give me a flower. A rose. I thanked the girl, and she went running back to her mother.

"Blessings and Ward of Notch," she said, and then the woman vanished with her daughter into one of the houses. I purchased breakfast at the local tavern, and went on my way.

Some time later, I climbed the Temple stairs and pushed into the welcoming hall of the above ground Temple, not stopping until I was in the innermost sanctum and well out of breath. If this were a normal trip, I would stop to admire the beauty of the Temple, especially in the sanctuary itself. The stone pillars soar up several stories, sweeping into graceful arches above. There are beautiful windows of stained glass in rich hues of blue and violet and red, with great rounds of fire-colored glass topping the balconies that run the length of the hall. In the front, between two great hanging tapestries, is the altar itself, made entirely of diamond, and behind that, a pyramid of gold and diamond, capped with a beacon. The holy light of Notch.

I peeled off my cloak now that I was out of the wind, and greeted one of the keepers of the temple that was sweeping in between the pews. He stopped his sweeping and came to me.

"Can I help you?" he asked, his tone calm and kind. I nodded, still catching my breath.

"I need information on Herobrine," I stated. The temple keeper gasped and made a sign against evil, giving me a wild look.

"Be careful when you say that name in this place!" he hissed. I apologized.

"I... Sorry. I really don't know how much time I have. Can you help me?" The keeper shook his head.

"You would need to ask Father Tiran. He's the head priest. Go downstairs and ask one of the Temple yeoman. They'll point you to where you need to be." Then the dark-robed keeper turned away and resumed sweeping. I thanked him and went the direction he had pointed, back out of the sanctuary and down the hall where a staircase led down into the mountain.

There was a yeoman in a white robe at the bottom of the stairs. I asked him where to find the Father, and he guided me to a small, discreet cell off the main hall. The yeoman rapped twice on the door, and a baritone voice called from inside.

"You may enter." The yeoman bowed and walked away, leaving me to open the door and cautiously step inside. A tall Villager man was standing inside behind an oak desk, dressed in a floor-length purple robe. "May I help you?"

"I was directed here to see Father Tirian?" I nervously began. The priest nodded and smiled.

"That would be me," he said. "Have a seat... Huntress, I believe?" I nodded, and sank into the chair he gestured to gratefully. Father Tiran seated himself. I felt clumsy and awkward in his presence- he seemed to exude a quiet sort of power, a sort of stiff elegance that suited a priest. He was one that took well to being in charge.

"Now," Father Tiran began, "What is it that you needed from me?" I shifted and drew out the old papers that the village priest had given me from my inventory and handed them to him. He took them without a word and began to examine them carefully.

"You have heard the news?" I asked, and Father Tiran looked up and nodded.

"I am aware that a forgotten entity has been released from the Nether," he confirmed. "I heard that it was an accident, but terrible destruction has been wrought. I think we should have known better." I sighed.

"But we didn't, so now I am trying to find out what I can. Who was Herobrine, and why was he in the Nether to begin with? What would he want now? That sort of thing." Father Tiran looked amused.

"I cannot answer those questions," he said, "But I can direct you somewhere where you may find answers. You see, there are ancient texts and scriptures that you can find, but we have not had access to for a long time. Do you know the history of this temple?" I shifted in my seat, sensing that he was about to keep me stuck here with a long story. I shook my head.

"This is not the original Temple that stood on these mountains," Father Tirian said. "There was one before, with a much larger complex than what we have here, but it was buried in a disastrous earthquake and landslide. Many attempts have been made to uncover it again, but too many cave-ins have happened as a result. I have forbidden any of my yeoman and priests from attempting to explore it. However, it shouldn't be so much as a problem for you." He smiled ruefully. "Considering what you are. There is a library down there somewhere. An ancient one. It is believed to date back to the age before the fall of Herobrine. I cannot say how much would be left, but you may find what you need. The last entrance we dug is at the base of the cliffs. Look for the white marker stone."

"Is that all?" I asked carefully. Father Tiran grinned.

"You thought I was going to babble on all day, didn't you?" I blinked and found myself nodding despite myself. Father Tiran laughed.

"No, I'm not like the others. Notch only knows that's why I'm the head priest. Now off with you! Time is of the essence."

"Thank you," I said, still surprised by the energetic nature of the old priest. Bowing in farewell, I turned and left.

The marker stone was exactly where Father Tiran said it would be, and it wasn't long before I had dug my way past the cave-in and into a brick tunnel. That had to be the old complex. Lighting a torch, I began to explore.

Hours later, I had a pack full of crumbling books but no real answers. With my torch in one hand and a half-loaf of bread in the other, I paced down the tunnels and ancient hallways grumbling to myself. I was definitely inside an old building now, and not a dug-out tunnel, but I had no real clues as to what was happening, or even where I was. I stopped at every dusty chest and shelf to look, but found nothing related to Herobrine.

A strange sound made me freeze. Swallowing my last bit of bread, I backtracked a few paces and dropped my torch in a rusty bracket on the wall. There was a bright light spilling out from behind something. I peeked around the corner, and saw its source from somewhere down the side hall. Moving carefully, I went and looked to see what was there.

Down a stone brick staircase was a circle of stars. Well, not actually stars, but it looked as if there was a hole in the floor that opened up to the night sky. It was bordered by a ring of nine blocks, each with a glassy eye placed in their top slots. A portal. An End portal. I had stumbled upon a Stronghold.

There were also three Endermen around the portal. That was the sound I had heard- that distinct, melodic chuckling of their language. Now they had all stopped talking and were glaring up at me. Endermen weren't hostile, per se, but...

Looking an Enderman in the eye is taboo. Fixing my gaze on my toes, I backed away and left the way I had come, retrieving my torch from the bracket. Don't call me superstitious- I've accidentally looked at an Enderman's eyes, and I found out just how vicious they can be. There's a reason that taboo is there.

Only minutes later I found something even more exciting. I found myself in a straight hallway that led into a huge chamber. It was too dark to see how far it went, but I could tell it was vast from the echo. Looking around with my torch before me, I saw several redstone lamps in the wall. This place was powered. There was a lever by the entryway from the corridor. Lowering my torch, I gripped it and pulled.

I nearly fell over from what I saw.

The lamps flickered on to reveal a room even larger than I had anticipated. Bright, polished gold sparkled before me, and as my vision adjusted, I was able to see clearly all the detailing. The room had pillars of gold, and there was a great golden structure in the center on a raised dais of blue lapis stone. The floor was made up of checks of black obsidian and a smooth white stone I didn't recognize, and the walls were of the same, all smooth white behind the golden pillars. There were windows, but they were all blocked up with dirt and stone. All around the room were little nooks and niches in the walls that held all sorts of things on display.

I cautiously approached the dais, curious. This didn't look like anything of Notch. There was no beacon, after all. I stepped into the golden structure, and it hit me then. There was a low barrier in front, and in the back, a small depression with a blackened bottom. Probably where an eternal flame burned once. Above that was a small depiction of a black-shirted man with white eyes.

This was a shrine. To Herobrine.

I backed down the dais again, breathless. They _worshiped _Herobrine? My mind raced. It only made sense, of course, that things were different before the Fall of Herobrine in the tale the priest had given me. Maybe he wasn't evil in the beginning...

But he certainly was now. I wanted to get out of here.

But before I could leave, I decided to take a look around at the things displayed in the temple chamber. Surely there would be treasures here that would lead me to answers. And as a matter of fact, I was not disappointed.

In the center alcove on the left hand wall, I found three thick volumes on pedestals on a table. Each was bound in leather, with the titles etched in gold on the covers: _Chronicle I, Chronicle II, Chronicle III. _I slid a finger under the cover of _Chronicle I _and bent it back carefully- it bent smoothly, as if well-used but still relatively new. A few pages later was the creation story.

_In the beginning, there were the Brothers: Notch, and Herobrine. _

That rocked me back on my heels. Herobrine was... no, no it couldn't have been. No, Notch and Herobrine _hated _each other! What was this? Confused and excited, I lifted the tome from its pedestal and was about to keep reading. This could be exactly what I needed!

A low, melodic chuckling drew my focus away from the book in my hands. Scalp prickling, I realized that I was being watched. I had probably been followed, and right now there was very likely a trio of Endermen right behind me. I stowed the three _Chronicles _away in my inventory and placed a hand on the hilt of _Firefall. _I was mentally preparing myself to make a run for it.

Genuine human laughter echoed from somewhere behind me, shooting needles across my nerves. Who followed me!? There was only one person it could be. I sucked in my breath and loosened _Firefall _in its sheath. No, it couldn't be Him. He couldn't have found me yet, not so soon...

"What delightful irony," said a strong tenor voice from behind me, "to find a Notch-loyal Steve brat lurking in a church devoted to me. I cannot say I am not surprised- I thought I wiped out your kind." I clenched my jaw hard and gripped the hilt of _Firefall, _but I didn't dare draw. Instead, I swallowed hard and wrestled with my adrenaline-shocked voice until I could speak with dignity.

"Glad to prove you wrong," I spat. "I was looking for lost ancient lore. This seemed a good place to start." I could have sworn I could _hear _Herobrine smirking from behind me.

"You have nerves for a mortal- I'll give you that." Herobrine gave an exaggerated sigh. "It's too bad, really, that your friend isn't the same. What was his name?... Ah, yes, Dragon. He and I have become rather well acquainted in the Nether, you know." I choked involuntarily.

"What do you want with me?" I asked, keeping my voice low and hoping it didn't shake too much.

"Oh, not much really," Herobrine droned from behind me. I was still frozen in place, glaring at the pillar in front of me, not daring to turn around. A cold hand appeared on my shoulder and gripped uncomfortably hard. "I want to see how much fun you can be to play with," he whispered in my ear. I went rigid. Chuckling humorlessly, Herobrine removed his hand and walked a few paces away.

"I suppose this is what you could call a 'friendly first encounter'," Herobrine said. "Don't worry, I know you are no ordinary Son of Steve. You have the most fascinating powers. It should be most amusing." Then he seemed to be addressing someone else. "Old friends, kill this one and let her respawn in the midst of her burning castle." I panicked and fumbled in my inventory.

"Castles can be rebuilt!" I snapped, holding up a pail of water as a clear sign to the Endermen: I won't hurt you if you don't hurt me. My response gave Herobrine pause.

"That is true," He resigned, "But there is something you have not considered- your Villager friends. Their lives cannot be so easily replaced, now can they? And what of your friend Dragon? He can resurrect from anything- which means he can suffer for eternity in the Nether." I gasped, and the pail shook in my grasp. Herobrine laughed, the sound echoing through the room.

"Damn you," I hissed, gripping the hilt of my sword so hard my knuckles turned white.

"Do you need encouragement? It seems so. We'll just have to start with someone closer to home. Let's try Father Tiran..." He didn't finish.

"NO!" _Firefall _flew out of its sheath and I leaped onto the table before me, turning and launching myself at Herobrine with my sword held high. I got one good look at Herobrine before he blinked out of sight, and _Firefall _skidded on the floor instead, sending sparks and chips of obsidian flying. Something hit me hard in the side. I folded under the force of the blow and slid fast across the floor, my breath all knocked out of me. Herobrine had teleported around me and kicked me across the room.

"I have an appointment with the village outside," Herobrine sneered. "Kill her. I'll give her a taste of chaos soon enough." I watched helplessly as Herobrine vanished from sight, leaving the three Endermen slowly approaching me where I lay gasping.

Planting _Firefall _point-first on the floor, I leaned on the hilt and hauled myself to my feet. A grating cry was beginning to fill the room. Hefting my sword, I charged at the nearest Enderman. It vanished before my blow could land, but I had anticipated that. Pivoting around, I swung pommel-first and hit the creature in the face. It went down with a sharp bark of pain.

The other two were almost on me. Thinking fast, I retrieved my bucket of water from my inventory and threw it down. The Endermen backed off fast. The one I had hit screamed and vanished, hopefully back to the End. If there's one thing Endermen hate, it's water. It burns them like lava burns us.

The other two circled me from the edges of the small pool, waiting for the water to drain away. It was doing so quickly- I had to make my move before then. Boots splashing hard, I made a running leap at the closer one. It didn't get away in time and took the brunt of my stroke. Teleporting away, it tried to strike again from behind. I stabbed viciously backwards, and got lucky. The grating scream rattled my ears.

One left to go- but the water was gone, run away to tiny rivulets on the smooth floor. I moved to attack the last one too late. A pair of mottled black arms closed around me and my vision fizzed with purple sparks and went black.

Something sharp stabbed at my armor, multiple times. I could hear the links rattling on my mail, and something bludgeoned me in the face. Suddenly, there was a scream and it stopped. I found myself looking up at the night sky above.

I realized I was falling.

The cold surface of a lake slapped me hard on landing and swallowed me whole. Shocked back to my senses, I thrashed underwater and tried to move up. Somehow I was able to orient myself, and I made it to the surface coughing and gasping. Thunder rolled from above. I looked up and saw what had happened. The Enderman had teleported me to a cliff above the lake, but it had started raining. Blinded by water, I started swimming for shore, hampered by my cloak and heavy armor.

My armor was still on me, and I still held my sword. Good. They hadn't succeeded in killing me. Water ran down my face- I swiped a hand across my eyes to clear them, but my hand came away glistening red in the moonlight. Probing carefully, I found a deep cut on my forehead. I knew I had others.

I started to look around, trying to orient myself. There was a lake near Ember- was this the one? Yes, I knew that island. Then I noticed something that made my heart stop.

There was a red glare on the horizon.

For a moment I was too dazed to realize what was happening. Then I connected the pieces- I was very close to the Temple village, and Herobrine had said something about bringing them harm... And wildfires made that sort of glare.

The Temple village was burning.

I broke into a run through the forest.

My hand is beginning to cramp. I don't want to sleep again, but the page is getting blurry. I'll write more when I wake again.


	3. Entry Three

**Date: Year 10181 Villager calender, third day of summer**

**Hiding in my bunker**

My things are packed. I've made the decision- I'm going to get out of here today. As soon as I have finished writing.

I just can't stay in here. It's too tight and I'm going stir-crazy.

Now where was I?

Oh.

Well, better get this over with. I promised myself I would write it all.

I dragged myself out of the lake gasping and coughing, too relieved to realize what was happening around me. When I had gotten myself sorted out and as much as the water off as I could, I took a look around. The area was quiet around the lake, with a chilly breeze sifting through the trees. The thin mist of rain pattered down on the lake, and the chuckling waters lapped gently on their shores. The entire scene had a deep sense of serenity. I went on all fours and just gulped in the air, happier than anything to simply be alive.

Somewhere in that time, my instincts took over the false sense of security. I looked up and realized that it was well past sundown- shouldn't there be monsters? I got to my feet, my sword unsteady in my hand, but nothing moved. Fatigue pulled at the edges of my focus, willing me to just lay down and sleep for now. I was exhausted. I could go fight when I was rested...

An acrid scent blew past my nose. Snapping out of it, I looked upwind and sniffed the air. There was definitely something foreign on the wind. Above the smells of the forest and the lake, there was a slight smoky tang.

No. Just smoke. Unmistakeably smoke.

That was when I noticed the red glare growing on the horizon.

"_NO!_" I screamed, and at that moment, my heart nearly stopped. The village! I had to get to the village! Without another moment's hesitation, I tore off into the night.

I flew through the forest, barreling past anything in my way. With every step, I prayed to Notch that I wouldn't be to late. Wet branches slapped my chest, my arms, my face. Thorns tugged at my legs and cloak. In one terrifying instance, a thorn bush caught my cloak and held it, stopping me dead in my tracks. Screaming in frustration, I fumbled with the ties and ripped it off, leaving it hanging on the thorns. I was warm enough without it.

Heart pounding and chest heaving, I broke through the trees at last and had to stop. Gasping, I looked out across the plains towards the village. What I saw made my knees give out.

The plains themselves were aflame. The weak drizzle of rain did nothing to impede the progress of the wildfire, and bright tongues of fire licked the air for as far as I could see. Smoke rose in a thick haze that set me hacking in moments. From where I knelt, I could only just see the village. Tears blurred my eyes.

I could hear them. Above the crackling of the fire, I could hear the screams. Too hoarse to shout or even to speak, I closed my eyes and covered my ears. There was nothing I could do! I couldn't get to them in time! It was already too late- Herobrine was already here. He was already slaughtering them.

Something made me stop and take my hands off my ears. Another sound. It was weak and strained from echoing across the vast space, but I knew that sound. It was a now very familiar laughter. Rage blossomed in my chest.

"You-... You Notch-cursed filth." I muttered darkly, narrowing my eyes against the smoke. Tears were already streaming down my face. I let them. Slowly, legs shaking from the effort, I got to my feet and drew my sword. "Not this time, Herobrine."

Leaping down the hill, I faced the fire head-on. I was still wet from the lake, and that helped. Aiming for the blackened, burned-out patches, I ran through the fire as fast as I could. Hot smoke burned my lungs, and my boots began to char from where I had to step. Whenever I reached a clearing in the fire, I had to stop and rest. For all my rage, my legs weren't going to hold up after my run through the forest. It was getting harder and harder to breathe, harder and harder to put one foot in front of the other. My mouth had an unpleasant feeling to it, like I had chewed on gritty sand. I spat out the grit, and it came out black. Bad sign.

The screams were dying down. That made me move even faster, even as my entire body felt like it was on fire and melting in the heat. Silence meant... I didn't want to think about it.

All at once, I was out of the fire. My legs gave out again, and this time, I fell flat full-length.

That wouldn't do.

Fishing around in my inventory, I found a healing potion and thanked my lucky stars that I had had enough sense to bring it. Dragging myself to a sitting position, I coughed hard and spat out another wad of bitter, charcoal-tasting black and tipped the potion into my mouth. The taste was sickeningly sweet after the smoke, but I forced it down. Gagging, I threw the empty bottle aside and shuddered as the potion took effect. Strength returned to my limbs. I was able to stand.

_Firefall _in hand, I charged past the village barrier.

Immediately I knew I was too late.

Half of the wooden houses were now blackened skeletons, and the rest were on fire. There was lava in the streets. I found the first living soul by tripping on him. The Villager was draped limply across his stairs and into the street, moaning weakly. Horrified, I sheathed my sword and grasped the man under the shoulders and helped him up onto the stone stairs. With all the awful noise he was making, I couldn't move him any further without my stomach turning. When I removed my hands, they were covered in sticky red blood. I swallowed hard and wiped them off as best as I could on the ground.

There were no bodies, but I knew the signs of death well enough. There were man-sized patches of dark red here and there, and tattered robes. I found another living person- a child- weeping at one of those patches, screaming for her mother. I glanced at her and then looked back harder. She had given me a rose only that morning. Her mother had wished me well... No, oh _Notch _no, that was where she had been killed!

A fireball arced down at the child. Thinking fast, I dove down and scooped up the girl, and we both narrowly missed being hit. The outside edge of the blast hit my side and I cried out in pain as my metal chain armor superheated. Dropping the crying girl behind a pile of rubble, I rolled to my feet and drew my sword.

Herobrine hovered in the air between what was left of two houses, his white eyes gleefully shining. He had another fireball floating in one hand, waiting to be cast.

"Well hello there, Huntress." He said mockingly. "I can't say that I am not surprised. To be honest, I'm amazed that you made it this far. And still standing? Most impressive." I raised my sword and said nothing.

Herobrine lazily threw his fireball in my direction. I flew aside and rolled, and it skidded on the ground where I was and exploded. My ears rang from the blast, and I had trouble understanding what Herobrine said after that.

"You know, you had a lot more spirit when we were at the temple," he said as he floated gracefully to the ground while I clumsily regained my footing. "Where has that gone now? Has it been drowned in your utter insignificance?" I snorted.

"That wasn't exactly the most poetic." I said bitterly. Herobrine narrowed his eyes.

"Nonetheless," Herobrine pronounced deliberately, venom dripping from his voice, "You will die here. I am going to kill you here and now, and you will respawn exactly where I want you to. There is nothing you can do to stop me." He laughed a little. "On the lighter side, you will get to see your friend Dragon again in the Nether. I'm sure you miss him." I glared at him.

A thought struck me. Moving quickly, I reached into my inventory and retrieved a small and valuable object that I had been given by the priests at the Temple a long time ago. Setting the commands, I placed the block right in front of me and smirked. Herobrine's smile faded.

"A command block. How clever." His voice was carefully controlled, but his eyes flared much, much brighter. I backed up a step, more than a little intimidated.

A bolt of lighting struck the block with a deafening _boom _of thunder. When my vision cleared, Herobrine stood a little closer, his expression dark and fiery. The command block was unharmed. I cautiously smiled.

"I thought you liked tricks," I taunted. "You certainly pulled a lot of them in the Temple." Herobrine closed his eyes and his face smoothed. When he opened his eyes again, his countenance was calm, but his gaze was flaring dangerously.

"No matter. You can keep this game going as long as you want, _Huntress, _but only so far as your strength and your _tricks _will last." Herobrine wasn't laughing now. Instead, I faced a cold and ruthless killer, with more power than any other being in the universe, aside from Notch himself. "And I am still going to kill you."

"I am not afraid to die," I retorted, but my hands were subtly shaking as they gripped my sword a little tighter. I was lying, and he knew it. I hadn't died many times in the past, in fact, I had only died twice in my life. Both times were horrible. Once was from a long fall into lava, and the other was falling into a cave literally swarming with monsters, and my weapons ran out. This time, I would respawn in the place of my choice with all of my items, but this time was no better. Actually, it was worse. I had never died alone before. Ever.

Not afraid to die? Please. I had never been more afraid in my life.

"I see you, Huntress." Herobrine said, shifting into a simple battle stance. I knew what he meant- he could see what I was really feeling. He could see into me, into my thoughts and memories. "You know what this means. This is a temporary reprise, and nothing more."

I watched in terror as the hilt of a sword appeared in Herobrine's hand. Slowly, a heavy black blade formed, glittering in the firelight. The blade was wider and longer than my own sword, and I knew it would be hard to defend against. A sword that size had simply too much weight behind it, and with the ease I saw Herobrine handle it, I knew I was in over my head. He was bigger than me, and much stronger, and faster, too.

I wasn't going to last long.

"I cannot imprison you," Herobrine conceded, hefting his sword, "But I can still make you SUFFER!" On that last word he lunged forward.

I couldn't move in time and just barely parried his lightning blow. Immediately, another heavy blow came to the other side, and his sword skidded off of mine to squeal against my armor. It held- barely. I groaned as I felt my chain mail dig into my flesh.

His sword came down again, and I blocked it straight-on. The force behind it nearly sent me to my knees, and he slid the blade so that our swords locked. He grinned broadly as he looked me in the face. I gritted my teeth and focused on holding his blade at bay. My arms shook from the effort.

"Now now, you can't expect to win like that," Herobrine mocked. Slowly, his blade forced mine down further and further. He was toying with me. I slid a foot backwards and quickly shifted my weight. My sword tore free of the hilt-to-hilt lock.

Suddenly, Herobrine's sword swept around and up, slamming my sword up and around. I felt the shock of it all the way up my arm through the shoulder, and the joint popped unpleasantly. I don't know how I kept my grip.

Before I could react, Herobrine half-turned and kicked me full-on in the chest. My breath _whooshed _out of my lungs and I flew backwards, hitting a brittle wall hard and crashing through. I landed in a heap as a pile of charred debris rained down on me. Gasping, I accidentally took in a lungful of ash.

Coughing desperately, I clawed my way up through the pile until I was out in the air again. Grasping my sword, I tried to stand and slipped on something loose, falling belly-first back down onto the rubble.

Herobrine was there in an instant. He snatched me up by grasping a handful of the back of my chain mail and throwing me headlong into the open. I crashed into the remaining wall of the church tower, rebounded, and fell to the ground slumped against the cobble wall. My sword had flown out of my hand and rattled on the scattered stones. My head throbbed and my ears rang louder than ever. My vision blurred, and for a moment, I nearly passed out.

A hissing sound brought me back to my senses. I looked up just in time to see a fireball whistling straight at me, and barely threw myself aside in time. The fireball struck what was left of the church tower and exploded, sending chunks of blazing-hot scree flying through the air and battering me as I rolled. Scrabbling for my sword, I got up and tried to run.

Coughing and staggering, I didn't make it very far before Herobrine was upon me again. He came up behind me and hooked one of his feet in front of my ankles, sweeping my feet out from under me. I fell flat and cried out sharply when my tender and aching head hit the stones below.

Herobrine stabbed down at me. I swung my sword as hard as I could and only just deflected the blow, and then rolled aside, heaving myself away. He stopped me dead by standing on my leg, and stabbed down again. I screamed as his sword tore through my iron leggings and into my thigh. Writhing against the blade, I tried to shake off Herobrine's weight to no avail.

Herobrine ripped his sword free, and let me drag myself away and get to my feet dizzily. I couldn't put weight on the wounded leg at all, and my vision was swooping and whirling in such a way that I could barely stand. Undoubtedly from hitting my head so hard. Gripping my sword with both hands, I stood and faced Herobrine with an unshakable feeling of despair. He was right- I couldn't beat him, and he sure wasn't going to relent.

Herobrine raised his sword, and then lowered it, a grin on his face. He moved it from a two-hand grip to his left hand and raised his right, palm up.

"I don't need this to finish you," He murmured, almost to himself. I watched, horrified, as a bright orb of fire formed in his hand. It was too late to run. I was able to take one step backwards before Herobrine flicked the fireball at me. It hit the ground right in front of my feet.

The world exploded into heat and light and I flew up into the air.

For a few terrifying seconds, I couldn't see or hear, and all I knew was that I was falling fast. The ground rushed up and I slammed down hard. Something dull and pointed was under my back, and I heard something break on impact. My sword clattered away somewhere- I could only just hear it. My ears were ringing so loud, and my vision was filled with red starbursts.

I knew it was the end.

Flipping onto my belly, I dragged myself to where my sword had fallen and touched it with one hand. It vanished into my inventory. Good. At least I wouldn't lose that.

Moaning in agony, I rolled back onto my back and gagged. Something hot and acidic was coming up. Too weak to move, I let my head roll to the side and my body heaved without warning. I retched onto the blackened ground, coughing hard between heaves. There was nothing but bitter acid that came up, and more blood than I was comfortable with. The smell of it made me sick. Swallowing hard, I worked up a mouthful of saliva in my dry mouth and spat, and turned my head the other way. I had never been in so much pain.

Herobrine came into my line of sight with his sword resting casually across his shoulders.

"Pathetic," he said, looking meaningfully at the mess I had made. "You really are weak after all. Determined, but weak. You came all this way... for what? You saved no one and only brought about your own demise." Herobrine put the tip of his sword to my throat. "It's almost tragic, really. It took all of this pain to teach you that you cannot defy me. Not these Villagers, not Dragon, and most certainly not you. I told you this would come, Huntress. Prepare yourself."

I watched Herobrine raise his sword and fresh adrenaline shot through my entire being. But it was too late. My body screamed in protest when I even thought of moving. My breath quickening, I squeezed my eyes shut and hoped it would be quick.

Searing pain tore through my chest and everything fell into dizzying silence.

Moments later, I woke up here in my bunker, alive and gasping. Gathering my knees to my chest, I let out a strangled sob and began to cry.

I... I'm sorry, I have to stop.

* * *

I'm sorry if my handwriting wasn't that neat for those last few pages. My hands were shaking.

They still are.

I don't know what we are going to do against Him. I really don't. I've never fought so hard in my life, and I've never been beaten so badly.

It's time to leave. I don't want to- especially not now. Not after reliving that to write it down. But someone has to fight Him. Someone has to do _something. _I just don't know what.

It's sunrise out there. I'm going to bring this along with me, just in case I get the chance to write more later. Maybe I'll have some good luck after that.

Notch help me, and for the love of all that is holy, let the others be okay.

It's time to go.

* * *

**Amanda the Huntress here. Whew! That one was a doozy! (slaps self awake and looks over shoulder to make sure Herobrine isn't there)  
**

**I know, I KNOW! That was violent. Why do you think Huntress was having nightmares? **

**Anyway, this rewrite is going surprisingly well. That was one SERIOUS fight, don't you agree? There'll be more where that came from, and lots of fun drama and lots and lots of running for our lives here. No flat scenes from me, you know me too well. I'll be surprised if you get the taste of smoke out of your mouth anytime soon (I know I won't...I'm the one who had to write that.)**

**How did you like it? Don't go away- I've got more coming up again soon! Leave a review if you want it on time. If I can get up to ten reviews before this Wednesday, I'll update then. (If not, you've got another week to wait, buster. I'm not pushing it without encouragement.)**

**Now- Huntress is alive and about to venture out into the open again... to what? What will she find out there? Will her friends be alive? Will she ever find answers? Or is Herobrine just going to beat her into pulp again and take over the world? (I hope not... *shudders at the thought of writing another defeat like that*) **

**Remember- REVEIW NOW AND GET ANOTHER UPDATE IN TWO DAYS! Make sure to like and follow and I will see you later, readers!**


	4. Entry Four

**Date: Year 10181 Villager calender, tenth day of summer**

**Somewhere north of the Temple of Notch, in a cave**

I'm still alive, at least. I've been traveling hard for several days on foot, headed over the mountains to a ruin that I'm not entirely sure even exists pictured on a map as ancient as the Temple itself. A snowstorm hit yesterday in the afternoon, and I took shelter in this cave. The storm is still going, and I got bored and decided that this was a good time to write in my journal. I've covered a lot of ground since I left my bunker.

The most incredible things have happened, and I'm not sure how to write it all down.

First- I saw Herobrine again.

Let me explain.

* * *

Before I left my bunker, I was looking through those three books I found in the destroyed Temple. The _Chronicles. _So far, I have read up through most of _Chronicle III. _I learned many interesting things while I read, and I don't know what to think.

The history that I was taught was that Notch created the world and peopled it with the Steve race. Then Herobrine, his renegade brother, waged war on him and nearly destroyed everything. The original Steves were wiped out. After a great struggle, Herobrine was cast down into the Nether ten thousand years ago, and Notch went about healing the scars upon the earth.

That isn't what I found in the _Chronicles_.

The story I found in these volumes reads that Notch and Herobrine loved each other as brothers, and created the Overworld _together. _It isn't entirely clear, but _Chronicle I_ says that Herobrine alone was the creator of the Steve race, and of many other things. Notch was still the supreme creator, but Herobrine didn't begrudge that. He wasn't as strong as his brother.

There are several fuzzy accounts of rebellion amongst the Sons of Steve. Herobrine wasn't the instigator, and all of the rebellions were in fact against him. He is portrayed as a good and loving god.

Then something changed. Herobrine shut down and closed off, obsessed with something that none of his Steve subjects could discern. The rebellions got worse, and Herobrine became harsher in his punishment. He seemed to be contracting some sort of sickness of the mind or heart. Then one day, he vanished. He left behind all of his terrible punishments for the treason of Stevedom- the monsters of the night, the harshness of the ground and the unsteadiness of the earth itself. Mining and farming were incredibly difficult.

Steve society nearly fell when he disappeared. Steves broke into different warring nations and factions, and there were few good souls left. The last followers of Herobrine and Notch prayed desperately for salvation.

Then one day, Herobrine came back. But this wasn't a good thing- he immediately unleashed his full power upon the Steves. Backed by armies and armies of Endermen, Herobrine chased the survivors of his wrath from one end of the earth to the other, until there were none left alive. The last Steve, the _Chronicle _notes, died in solitude in a remote Villager settlement, childless and brokenhearted.

Not once did Notch appear in the carnage.

It was only after the troubles that Notch confronted his brother and forced his reign of terror over the Overworld to end. There was an incredible struggle between the two gods, with such force that the very earth shook. Weeks passed before the tremors stopped. At the end of it all, Notch at last cast down his brother to the infernal realm of the Nether, sealing him away for what he had done.

Then Notch was gone. For the past ten thousand years, more or less, there have been no recorded appearances of either god.

What struck me when I read the stories was the positive light Herobrine was portrayed in. The writer of the history clearly loved him, and all of the evil was blamed on madness. The _Chronicle _reads like this:

"_From whence this change came, I cannot say, but to say that Herobrine fell to madness in his despair and in his abandonment. No other explanation will suffice- man or god, no one can become so evil from such heights of good, nor can anyone become so good from such depths of evil as the leaders among the Steve deviants did claim. The race had fallen, and Herobrine had been struck down by madness. I fear that there is a greater evil involved, but I have no evidence of such. Truly, this is a tragedy, to see our brother race gone and our patron fallen."_

I didn't get it when I read it in the bunker. I still don't get it now. But to be fair, it makes sense. Herobrine when I met him was, well, insane. Clearly insane.

With all this in mind, I packed up, wrote the last few passages in my journal, and left the bunker.

* * *

I needed a little rest earlier. It's dark now, but I can write by firelight.

I don't think I can express how deeply my defeat has affected me emotionally and mentally. Remember the nightmares I've been having? I'm still having them. Last night I had another bad one. I saw Dragon again, and he was hanging on a chain over a pit of- ...

Never mind.

I had to repair my armor. There was a huge gash in my mail, both front and back, where Herobrine stabbed me, and a rend in my leg armor where he got me in the leg. But that wasn't much of an inconvenience- I had supplies in my bunker.

What is disturbing is that I have a scar on my chest now. It needs to be understood that we modern Steves don't scar when we're killed. We wake up in our clothes without a mark on us. But this time, I had a dark, ridged scar. It's faded to white now, but it's there. And it hurts. If I get upset or when I wake up from a really bad nightmare, it'll flare up and make me feel as if my entire body is on fire. With it this cold outside, it's aching now.

Where was I?

When I first left my bunker a week ago, I would see Herobrine out of the corners of my eyes. Panicked, I would turn around, and see no one there. I've had this unshakeable sense of unease since I left. I know I'm being watched by something, or someone.

I set off towards the Temple again, warily. I knew it was a bad idea to visit the same place twice, but there were some things I needed to clear up. I still didn't have all the answers I needed, and I had been told of a massive library underground below the modern Temple by Father Tiran. It was the only place I knew to look.

I broke through the forest to the west of the Temple mountains with a mounting sense of dread. Somewhere up ahead, over the low hills, were the ruins of the Temple village. I wasn't ready to face that horror. My mind flashed back to that little girl I had saved by sending her behind a pile of rubble. Cresting the rise, I prayed that she was all right. Maybe she had found help.

There it was. The village lay before me in the distance, in stark contrast to the mountains looming over it. The plains were blackened and crumbling gray where the fire had done its work, and the village itself was nothing more than a burned-out wreck. The central church tower was a stone stump, and the far tower was fallen over at the second story. The top story had smashed into the neighboring library. Smoke still fluttered up in some places, and ash floated into the air as the breeze agitated the dust. I took a deep breath and continued forward, keeping the cliffs to my left and my eyes straight ahead.

I wanted desperately to visit the Temple, but I knew I couldn't. It would put them in indescribable danger after what just happened, and it would broadcast my location. I was taking enough risks for one day.

There was a point where the cliffs swept very close to the Village. I couldn't help but see how deeply the ruination had struck. I passed only a few dozen blocks away from a library with its back end smashed off, books scattered on the grass. The wind picked up, ramming into the cliffs and blowing ash in my face. I covered my face with one hand, and when I looked back, I could see small things blowing towards me. A half-burned page. A broken torch, unlit, sliding on the ground. A scrap of green cloth.

A withered rose. I still had the rose from that girl. My chest seized up, and I had to stop as the pain got worse and worse. Crumpling to my knees, I hugged my chest with one arm and covered my mouth with my free hand. My vision blurred with tears. A strangled sound came up from deep in my throat, and I thought I was going to throw up. It was just too much- just too much pain...

Breathing quickly, I removed my hand and let myself sob. The wound on my chest burned with a gnawing sort of pain that made my breathing hitch hard. Tears ran freely down my face. This shouldn't have happened. None of this should have happened, and it was all our fault.

Gasping, I somehow got myself under control and got to my feet, wiping my face with my new cloak. I had a dark, hollow feeling in my stomach. I felt like I had swallowed lava, and it had hardened. My limbs were stiff when I came to the white stone marker.

Something moved out of the corner of my eye. I whirled, sword out in an instant. I could have sworn I saw white eyes...

Nothing was there.

Reluctantly sheathing my sword, I turned around and entered the tunnel. I took a torch from my inventory and lit it, and went on my way, hand on _Firefall'_s hilt all the way.

I saw more flashes like that as I went. My nerves got worse and worse, until I carried my naked sword in my hand and checked over my shoulder every few paces.

But despite...that...I found that the _Chronicles _were a great help. They had outlines of the ancient Temple complex. I had checked and re-checked the diagrams, and found that the room I had found was in fact the temple of Herobrine, just as I had suspected. Somewhere opposite to that room was the temple to Notch. Or rather, the two rooms were sanctuaries to the gods, and the Temple was to both of the brothers equally. I already suspected that what I had been taught before was a long way from the truth, but doubt remained. What if this was a trick by Herobrine? He only had to fake the books and the picture in the ancient Temple.

I just don't know.

Anyway, the _Chronicles _also showed the exact location of the Great Library. It was centered in the Temple, under a skylight. It had been buried the deepest in the landslide, being under a very tall peak.

With the help of the book, I found it within minutes.

My torchlight showed me a set of double doors, framed in emerald. Carefully, I shouldered the right-hand door open and poked my torch in. The room it revealed was truly massive.

Red carpet covered the floor, muffling the sound in the room that would have echoed otherwise. There were bookshelves covering the walls up two stories, with a balcony on the second story. Freestanding shelves cut the room into different sections, and there were small tables surrounded by benches here and there for study.

The center of the room, under a high skylight, was somehow intact. Part of the skylight had been broken out by the weight of the landslide, but it was framed in stone, and most of the glass held. Piles of dirt were under the broken-out sections, but the rest was clear.

I decided to start there in the center. I wouldn't have time to look through the entirety of the library. Approaching the center with care, I came upon a ring of pedestals meant for books.

There were dozens of books displayed on pedestals and on little podiums, some open to show off beautiful calligraphy and colorful illustration. But one thing caught my eye- there were three empty pedestals in the middle of the ring. I looked around. Everything was coated in a thin film of dust and grit from the landslide that made it in. The pedestals had clean rectangles on them where a book once was. Recently.

Brow furrowed, I took out _Chronicle II _and experimentally placed it on the pedestal. It fit the dust-free spot perfectly. I put the book back into my inventory.

"So these were from here," I whispered to myself, wary of the silence around me. "Why were they in Herobrine's temple?"

"So you could find them."

I started violently and whirled around, nearly knocking down the pedestal behind me. It rocked wildly, slowly going back and forth until it settled back onto its base. The sound of the wooden base rocking on its stone tile echoed lazily in the great space. I didn't move until it stopped.

There before me stood Herobrine.

I raised my sword, eyes wide. My entire body thrummed with tension. My body still remembered the last we fight. Oh yes, it remembered quite clearly. My chest twinged, and I winced briefly, then tried to hide it.

Herobrine smiled.

Chuckling darkly, he spread his arms and took a pace or two backwards. It was a notably different sound than before- much less diabolical, almost self-depreciating. His smile held none of the controlled disgust and mockery. It looked almost...kind. He took one more step back, going right through a pedestal behind him.

I realized that he wasn't actually there and slowly lowered my sword. This was an illusion. My intuition pricked up, warning me that the real Herobrine could be anywhere around me.

"I'm not going to harm you this time, Huntress." Herobrine said. His tone was lower than his first one. It sounded strained, with that slight crackle to it that you hear in people that shout too much. I shifted, realizing that I had been staring.

"How did you know I came here?" I cautiously asked, surreptitiously glancing around. Everything around us was still, with no other signs of anything living.

"I can see into your mind, Huntress," Herobrine answered, a low warning tone in his voice. "I can't actually tell where you are, but I can come to you like this if you are close enough. From now on you will need to guard your thoughts." Funny, it sounded like he was warning me about his powers- like he was trying to help me. That put me on higher alert. Closing my eyes, I shoved the thought away.

"Why did you want me to find the _Chronicles_?" I asked, cutting straight to the point. I have always hated useless banter and beating-around-the-bush. Herobrine smiled again.

"The truth has been gone a long time," Herobrine said. "I was hoping that someone would be able to recover it. When the _Chronicles _were buried and their author killed, I thought no one would ever find the truth. Or even start looking for it, really. No one has been interested in such a long time.

"I don't have much time, Huntress, and you must understand that our next meeting will be different. None of us are safe. Trust what you find in the _Chronicles._"

I tightened my grip on my sword.

"I don't trust you," I muttered.

"Smart girl," Herobrine responded, his face free of all rancor. "That's why I cleared the way to this library." He swept an arm up, gesturing around the room. "The halls leading up to this had collapsed. I opened the way for you, and now I will give you something you will need later on." He gestured to something behind me. I turned, and saw two books highlighted in purple light.

"You can trust what is written in these, even after being guided to them by me. One is written by my own hand, one is not. You don't have to trust me to reach the truth. However, I doubt you will be able to read them until you learn the high script. They are very, very old- older than the _Chronicles._"

The image of Herobrine flickered, and his face twisted and then immediately smoothed itself. His eyes glowed brighter, and he looked away at something I could not see. He looked back at me and looked me straight in the eye.

"My time is up. Be ready." His voice faded as he said this, and as I watched, he vanished into nothingness.

I was left staring at the books on the pedestals that he had pointed out. The purple glow had faded, but I could see their covers in my torchlight.

_The Book of Herobrine, _and _The Book __of Notch. _

I wondered what Herobrine really wanted with me.

* * *

He was right that I wouldn't be able to read the books. I've tried several times, sitting here at my campfire in this cave and pouring over the pages. I've gone cross-eyed at least twice now, to no avail.

Beyond that, I've got the strangest feeling. I'm scared for Dragon, yes, and wary of Herobrine, but I also feel... determined. No, that isn't the right word. It's this strange stirring in my gut that tells me that I'm onto something. Herobrine spoke of finding the truth, which is what I set out to do. Was this a trick? All an elaborate trap? He could have killed me instead, and sent me to the Nether. I don't get why he didn't.

But I don't know if he would have, or could have, even gone that far just to trick me. Something was very, very different about him today when I saw him. Well, I didn't really _see _him today, which leaves me wondering. If he really wanted to talk to me, he could have come to me himself.

I can't shake the feeling that there's something bigger here at work. There's a piece missing in the story in the _Chronicles, _and I just know there's a piece missing now. I just can't say what.

Notch, I'm tired. I'm going to sleep before I confuse myself awake again. I'm on my way to an ancient Steve ruin- a city- that's in the _Chronicles. _It was one of the first cities, so maybe I'll find answers there.

I'll write more when I get the chance. Good night.

* * *

**Alright, veteran readers from _A Minecraft Tale,_ sit down and don't say a word. You know what's coming up, so don't spoil it for the new readers. To you new readers... Uh,...how do I put this?... I had fun writing that. Knowing me, you should know by know that if I had fun writing it, it generally isn't a good thing for the characters. **

**So. I didn't get my goal of ten reviews this chapter (I'm looking at you, old readers. You know who you are), so I'm moving that goal to this chapter. There is a bonus chapter coming up (a flash chapter, no more than a few hundred words, tops), so I'll be publishing faster anyway. That update is coming up mid-week, either Wednesday or Thursday. The real meat will be coming a little later than usual. I have other stories to update, _Chronicle_ chief among them. **

**I hope you enjoyed this little monkey wrench I threw into the plot! I fixed as many of the plot holes as I could find this go-round, and added a few subtleties that will help bind this in with the prequel and sequel a little more firmly. Trust me, BIG stuff is coming up. You-know-what is about to hit the fan, and I promise that you guys will love it. Remember the last chapter? I promised more of that. I meant it. **

**See you next chapter, and by the way, NaNoWriMo is coming. Let that be a warning for my future plans- both on irregular updates, and that I somehow perhaps maybe possibly just might have something special planned for all my loyal readers (A-HEM! *loyal* readers). Watch my profile for news on the... surprise. It'll be good. **

**See you next update! This has been a very long, drawn-out message from yours truly, and now I return you to your regularly scheduled programming. Please leave a fave, follow, or review, or just a review or all three is fine. Ciao.**


	5. Entry Five

**Date: Year 10818 Villager calender, twelfth day of summer**

**Somewhere North of the Temple mountains**

**Ancient ruin of the Sons of Steve**

I found it! I really found it! The city is exactly where the _Chronicle _maps stated that it would be. And the size of it!... Nothing we have ever built can even compare. Absolutely nothing.

I'm sitting inside what seems to be the entry hall of a great palace in the ruin. It's the only building that's entirely intact, save a part at the rear. The _Chronicles _call this place the Kingswatch or Kingshall something-or-other. It isn't consistent with the name. The story is, this is the place where Herobrine ruled the Sons of Steve. The day he vanished, his vassals came in to find that massive hole in the roof and wall in the throne room.

Interestingly enough, it's located at the rear of the building.

Oh, blast, I'm getting ahead of myself.

I left the cave this morning when the storm finally broke. It snowed for the entire day and night since I last wrote, and when the wind finally died down and the snow stopped, I literally had to dig myself out. Travel was hard, with the snow knee-deep, but when I reached what looked like a forest path, it got shallower and I could walk at a normal pace.

Summer eh? Not on the mountains.

I reached the city by the time the sun was high. By then, I had come down out of snow altitude and walked through warm summer forests until I reached the ruin.

Here's what I saw.

What struck me first was the wall. They're over ten blocks high, all of stone brick and topped with chiseled brick, and capped off with battlements. The gates were once iron bars, but time had rusted them away. I was able to pass through unhindered.

Within, the city wasn't so grand.

The roads were all smoothly cobbled over, but they were pitted and broken. Some houses still stood- huge brick or wood townhouses still intact after ten thousand years. Others were piles of rubble. The destruction wasn't as bad closer to the walls, but it got worse as I approached the center.

In the center was a huge crater that started so suddenly, I almost tumbled straight in. It was a huge torque-shaped hole, like a wheel with a raised island in the center that somehow escaped destruction. There was a structure in the center- a golden shrine.

A very familiar-looking golden shrine.

One thing's for certain, they really did worship Herobrine at some point. There's just too much proof everywhere for it to be a trick. I don't know everything that Herobrine is capable of, but I doubt he would go this far.

Around the city there are these tall towers of stone brick capped with bright domes of stained glass. I've climbed a few already, and I've found a collection of note blocks in each. They all used to be on redstone circuits, so they would ring certain harmonies at specific intervals. It's a really cool clock system in the city, using these noteblock-towers as bell towers.

And then the palace.

This huge palace that I'm sitting in is on the opposite side of the crater that I entered the city on. It's truly the most magnificent structure I've ever encountered. It's all white pillars and graceful arches and stained glass in hues of blue and purple, and statues and fountains at every conjunction of corridors. In the main hall, I peeked in a few minutes ago to see massive flame-colored skylights that turn the entire room the colors of the sunset.

Dragon would love to see this.

I haven't explored the rest of the palace yet, but I'm sure it's incredible. I'll write as I go along-

...

Wait, what was that?

* * *

I thought I heard something. I'm in the main corridor right outside of the throne room. I think. What could it be?

...

Oh, Notch help me, it's Him! I'll write more when I can.


	6. Entry Six

**Date: Unknown. Frankly, I don't even know if it's still 10818.**

**Exact location unknown. **

**Somewhere in the Nether in a dank, hot, brick cell. **

I don't think I need to say again that I'm in the Nether. I don't know how long I've been down here, and I don't know if I'm ever going to be let out. It's unbearably hot and it's dark down here, and I'm hungry and parched.

Funny, I actually _wanted _to come here before I started this journal.

You know, I'm surprised I actually have my journal with me now. It was the strangest thing- just a few days...or I think it was days... after Herobrine killed me in cold blood, he came by my cell and just tossed in the journal with its quill through the bars. Then he walked away without a word. He didn't look at me, and he didn't try to intimidate me. I just let this thing sit on the floor for a few minutes before deciding that I was too bored to pass it up.

So, I started writing again.

I suppose I should start with how I ended up down here.

Well, here goes nothing.

* * *

My last entry left off with me spotting Herobrine off in the throne room. I was in too much of a hurry to write down what I saw just then- I'll write that now.

I didn't see him at first. I was just about to go walking right into the room when I heard something. It was a sharp snapping sound, like a breaking stone or the slap of a whip on something. I thought something within the structure was collapsing when I heard it.

Then I heard a cry of pain.

I recognized the voice as soon as I heard it- masculine, tenor, and contorted into the sound of sharp pain. It was overlaid with an erratic burbling that I recognized to be the voices of Endermen.

Peeking around the corner, I saw something I never expected in my life to see. I immediately retreated back and flattened against the wall, heart pounding.

Herobrine was in there, all right. But he wasn't... well, first of all, he was kneeling. On the floor. Barely holding himself up leaning on his sword planted down point-first on the tile.

And surrounding him were five Endermen, their claws bloody. Likely, they'd been hurting Herobrine. But the scratches and scores I had seen looked superficial to me- they were already healing. From the way Herobrine shook and jerked, he seemed to be fighting an agony seated inside himself, not on his skin.

_What _in all Notch- blessed creation this meant, I still don't know. All that I do know is that that scene drove me to do something I now regret.

My mind flashed back to what I had read in the _Chronicles_ and to what Herobrine had said in the Great Library. Something about both events struck me as odd- there was always something missing. What made Herobrine lose control in the first place? Why was he interested in the truth being found? He had acted so differently when he spoke to me then- he had given me a warning, that our next meeting would be different. Is this what he meant?

Herobrine cried out again- a low growl that crescendoed into a roar of pain. I heard something metallic skid across the floor and clatter down. Herobrine was panting now. The Endermen exploded into agitated chattering- it sounded almost taunting.

I peeked around the corner again. The Endermen were well out of arm's reach around Herobrine, and Herobrine himself was now on hands and feet, his sword flat on the floor. He gave one of the Endermen a hateful look, eyes glowering.

"I... have not forgotten the oath!" Herobrine muttered in a strained voice. Another groan of pain, and another cloud of Enderman chatter.

"I will!" Herobrine gasped. Suddenly as if struck by an unseen force, he screamed outright, and I saw him fall over sideways and curl up. "I WILL!" I winced despite myself. Herobrine was an incredibly strong being- I could only wonder how much pain it would take to make him scrabble on the ground like an animal.

Wait a second- what was hurting him? The Endermen were well out of reach, and I couldn't see or hear any other creatures. Again, I was frustrated by a missing piece. There was something else out there that I didn't know about that was causing this. There had to be.

"Why do you doubt me?!" Herobrine exclaimed. "I will finish what I began!" I cringed and flattened myself out of sight again. His voice had changed just then, going from the tone I had heard in the library to that sneering voice that had taunted me in the burning village. Something had just changed, but I didn't know what.

I had to do something. There was some powerful force at work here- powerful enough to bring Herobrine brother of Notch to his knees. I didn't know what I was up against, but I figured that I could at least start somewhere.

The Endermen, for example.

Pulling out two buckets of water from my inventory- I had grown wise since my last encounter with them- I swung around the corner and threw them as high as I could. The buckets crashed down at opposite sides of the circle of Endermen, and the water flowed quickly. Five Ender voices screamed in unison, and the creatures vanished in a flurry of purple sparks. I watched from the entryway, frozen in my tracks. The Endermen were gone... now what?

Only Herobrine remained by then, back on his knees and leaning on the hilt of his sword with both hands, his forehead resting on the pommel. I unfroze my limbs and carefully approached him, praying that I wasn't too late- and more importantly, that I had made the right choice.

Something caught me around the throat and all of a sudden I was hovering in the air, purple bands of fire wrapped tightly around my wrists, ankles, and of course, my neck. Herobrine slowly stood up shook water out of his hair as he turned, looking at me with eyes blazing.

I _told _you I regretted that.

The neckband choked back my gasp of surprise. Herobrine glared at me with eyes like coals on a fire, and I glared right back out of my shock. I had just tried to help him, thank you! Confusion and indignation kept my fear at bay- I still had no idea what exactly was happening. The nagging came back- I was onto something still, but I wasn't exactly in the right situation to appreciate something like that.

"Would you like to see the story behind this city?" Herobrine asked softly. With the neckband tight enough to strangle, I was unable to answer. Instead, I focused on breathing as much as I could past the crushing force. It seemed like a very important thing to be doing right then.

Suddenly, Herobrine raised one arm and I shot straight up through a gap in the roof. Unable to turn my head, I strained my eyes and watched in terror as the ground fell away beneath me at breathtaking speed. Herobrine lazily floated up to come alongside me.

The angle of my body changed, flipping me down so that I stared straight down at the ground. My stomach clenched and I squeezed my eyes shut, hoping that I wouldn't get sick from the height.

"Watch," Herobrine hissed, and my eyes were forced open by some pulling force I couldn't see- probably more of those magical chords.

The ruins below me rippled dizzyingly, and they changed into the scene of an open, empty plain. There were many small figures milling about, cutting down trees and laying stone foundations. I recognized the figure of Herobrine within the illusion, and the ones with him were probably Sons of Steve. The scene changed, and I could see the entire city in its heyday, in all its splendor. There, in the middle of it all, was Herobrine again.

Then the scene changed again. This time, the peaceful people were running through the streets in an angry mob, threatening Herobrine and all his followers with death. Several groups of Steves mounted on horseback fled beyond the city walls while Herobrine went out to face the mob mounted on a huge black horse. The mob drew back for a few moments, and then attacked.

"Surprised?" Herobrine asked. I strained my eyes to look over at him, but his gaze was fixated below. The scene continued to shift, each time showing greater distress. Steves fought Herobrine, and then each other. Then zombies and skeletons rose up out of the ground, and all who were pushed outside the city walls were torn to pieces. Peace reached the city- briefly. A huge force rose up all of a sudden and stormed the palace, and an explosion wracked the entire building. Something went wrong, because the Steves started fighting each other in hordes, with awful results.

The scene vanished.

"You will have read about this by now, I presume," Herobrine muttered from beside me. "I showed you what was to be known as the opening battles of the Ender War- a great war not fought by me against my creation, but by my creation against me. See how they destroyed everything I built for them! The palace, the walls, the beautiful temples and homes..."

Herobrine trailed off, eyes glowing dangerously.

"And when all else failed, I vowed to destroy them. I gave them warning again and again and again, and still they did not heed me. They became greedy and cruel, the destroyers of the world rather than the builders they were meant to be. And then the day came! This day came, and I seized my chance of saving the world. It was all I could do!" Herobrine's face darkened.

"And Notch would not help me." He spat. "My own brother abandoned me in my time of greatest need. I had to take matters into my own hands in that darkest hour. I did what was just! And how did he repay me? How did the all-knowing Notch reward my desperation? Exile. Eternal suffering and exile."

The neckband tightened, and I my mouth went wide, my chest heaving and unable to pull anything in. I couldn't breathe.

"I am not the one to blame for this!" Herobrine snarled. "This tragedy is his fault. His treachery!" Slowly, we began to lower to the ground. Herobrine kept talking. "I swore to make every last one of you pay for this, for what you had done. You, your precious friends, and last of all, Notch."

We were close enough to the ground by then for me to see something on the ground. It looked like a flat frame of obsidian, a rectangle to be exact...

A portal! Wait, a horizontal one? How- No, it didn't matter. My oxygen-depraved mind reached that conclusion just as Herobrine started talking again.

"I swore an oath to make you pay," Herobrine said, activating the portal with a wave of his hand.

"And I will make every last one of you _pay._"

Unable to make the slightest sound, I was dropped down and into the portal.

* * *

I'm not finished writing down everything that has happened yet, but I need to sleep. There's no way to describe how hot it is in here, and the heat and the thirst and the hunger would make anyone weak. And especially drowsy. My hands are getting shaky anyway. I'll write more when I wake up. Maybe something will happen by then. The journal is a nice relief, but in this barren cell, my mind is beginning to play tricks. I don't care what, I just need _something _to happen.

Anything to break the monotony.


	7. Entry Seven

**Date: Unknown... I still hope it's 10818**

**Somewhere in the Nether**

**Still in this Notch-blasted cell.**

Continued from yesterday.

* * *

The heat is the first thing that I can recall perfectly as I think of when I free-fell through the Nether portal. The swirling, noxious fumes of the portal took me in and twisted me to pieces and then put me back together and spat me out on the other side, in this dark, smoky abyss roiling with heat.

All of a sudden free of the magical chains Herobrine had been using to hold me, I found the voice to scream, the sound echoing thinly in the hot air. The scream was cut off when I hit the ground, shoulder first, with something painfully wrenching the wrong way as the rest of me thudded down. I cried out again shortly and gagged on pain.

Immediately, I struggled to my feet. The stone was fiercely hot, sending a slick sweat springing up all over me and burning my bare skin an angry red where it touched down. Gasping on the heavy, sulfuric air, I dizzily staggered to my feet and tried to take stock of my surroundings.

My eyes slowly began to adjust to the dim, and I could make out the fuzzy shapes of large rock formations through a thick red haze that blanketed over everything. I was in a large, cavernous space with no sky and the glimmer of fire here and there or the bitter glow of lava streams. There wasn't much light, but a little illumination leaked from between cracks in the stone, where I could see tight clusters of crystals packed together and filtering a bright yellow light through the haze.

I shuffled a few steps forward, sending up puffs of red rock dust as I went. Without warning, my foot skidded off the solid rock and into something soft that gripped and pulled. With a cry of surprise, I jerked on my foot but it was stuck fast. Clenching my jaw, I braced myself as well as I could and pulled, inching my foot out until it suddenly snapped free and sent my flying back onto the rock, banging my face.

Eyes wide, I looked back and saw a pit of dark, shifting sands that gave a soft murmuring sound as they slid back to fill the gap my foot had left. Coughing on all the dust I had stirred up, I struggled to my feet again and picked my footing more carefully.

A loud, low, rhythmic sound echoed across the space, and I turned back towards the portal with a sinking feeling. The sound shifted as it got louder, gaining speed and rising in pitch. I realized what it was with a shock- Herobrine! That was his laugh!

Part of me wasn't surprised. He dropped me down here, didn't he? Of course he would follow to finish the job.

Adrenaline poured into my system and my heart began to pound wildly. Snapped back to my senses, I turned and ran, only just catching a glimpse of white eyes as I flew around a pile of rock that blocked my peripheral view of the portal.

I could hear him clearly now over the blood pounding in my ears. I could hear as he thumped down to the ground, and I could feel the rumble through my feet in the stone, the rumble followed by the ominous silence that meant he had destroyed the portal and my only way home.

Now I could hear him gaining on me as I tore across the Nether as fast as I could.

Somewhere up ahead there was a gap between two standing stones. Putting on an extra burst of speed, I turned and aimed dead for it. I didn't know what was beyond it, and frankly, I didn't care to think that far ahead. I could be dead before I reached it. Just a few more steps, I encouraged myself as I leaped over another patch of those shifting sands, just few more steps...

"You are trapped...and yet you still _run?" _Herobrine huffed from behind me, his voice gruff with the lilt of a wolfish grin in his tone. My foot skidded when I heard this, and I nearly bit my tongue when my foot slammed down into a hole I didn't see. Freeing my foot before it could slow me down, I pushed even harder and leaped headfirst into the gap.

Stone struck stone and debris hailed down at me. I yelled and ducked, covering my head with both arms without daring to slow down as dust and scree peppered me from behind. Herobrine had used his sword to slash at me and missed -deliberately-, hitting the stone instead. My feet slipped on the Netherrack when the path angled sharply down, and I began to fall. Curling up, I tried to control my fall and rolled, barking my already wrenched left shoulder as I fell. The ground rushed up and I went down hard, my breath knocked out of me and hot pain blading across my back and down my arm. I refused to scream.

Herobrine laughed from behind me.

Legs heavy, I picked myself up and struggled on, using the high walls around me for support. As the adrenaline drained from my system, I kept on running doggedly out of sheer panic and a vague determination that I would somehow find a way to escape. With this in mind, I kept on for hours.

A stupid hope, I know.

At some point, I realized that I could no longer hear Herobrine behind me. I wanted to stop- _Notch _only knows how tired I was- but my instincts screamed not to. I couldn't hear him, but I could _feel _him. His oppressive presence was still there, and I still had that awful feeling of helplessness that I had only ever gotten around him, and him alone...

Without warning, my foot turned on a loose stone and I fell forward with a cry, putting my hands out to break my fall. The rough netherrack scraped my palms as I crashed down flat and lay still for several moments, hearing my ragged gasps rasp against the stone and the dust. In fact, I wasn't able to get up for a painfully long time, with my limbs aching limbs clenching and cramping with lactic acid. Groaning, I began to struggle back up off the baking hot netherrack, pushing up with both arms and being careful with my throbbing shoulder.

The ground disappeared under my left hand.

I gasped in surprise as my hand punched straight through the thin crust of stone, and then I slammed back down, hitting my face. A searing, burning pain raced up my arm and the smell of burning copper filled the air in a loud bubbling rumble. A lava pit.

A _shallow, near-the-surface _lava pit.

Screaming outright, I rolled away and yanked my flaming arm out of the hole I had made and tucked it close to my body, rolling back and forth to douse the fire. Desperately, I scrabbled at the bindings on the charred leather gauntlet on the burned hand and yanked it off, letting it bounce away and roll to a stop near the edge of the new lava pit. That stopped the worst of the burning.

The gauntlet had taken the brunt of the harm, being the only thing to catch fire. My arm was red and forming blisters around the elbow and between the fingers of my left hand where the leather was thinnest. Swallowing hard, I wiped the sweat out off my eyes with my good hand and slowly stumbled back to my feet. Staring at the ruined gauntlet distastefully, I decided that it wouldn't be worth saving. Hooking a toe under the blackened leather, I kicked it into the hole and watched it crumble into the sticky, glowing lava and send up a thin stream of greasy black smoke as it burned.

I set off again, but this time at a slower pace. I had somehow recovered the presence of mind to realize that running at such a maddening pace in this heat would get me killed. So, peering off into the thick red haze, I picked a direction and trudged on, cradling my burned arm and leaving my destroyed gauntlet behind.

I can't say for sure just how long I traveled, or how far. The bleak landscape of the Nether began to look the same after a while, with the same caves and valleys and heart-stopping drops into pits or off cliffs or into lava. My clock and compass were both spinning wildly in circles, and I had lost all sense of time. I wandered on and on, lost and dazed.

And very much in denial.

The Nether conditions rapidly wore me out, and I had to rest often. I packed my cloak away in my inventory after finding it too hot, and only took it out again to sleep on. Of course, I was too worried about being caught to actually sleep. I rested only under the cover of a cave or overhang, and ate and drank only as I walked, keeping a careful eye about me.

This served me well, as I discovered soon enough.

The Nether, you see, as hostile and unlivable as it seems, is not entirely devoid of life. From the start I was able to hear the distant grunts and screams of one creature or another above the ever-present crackling of fire and rasping of the hot, dry wind across the reddish stone. I had hoped to avoid any close encounters.

That hope was instantly dashed when a fireball skidded across my path.

I leaped aside as quickly as I could and narrowly avoided getting blown up on the spot when the fireball blew. Heart racing, I immediately thought of Herobrine and wondered, with a sinking feeling, how he had already found me. Instinctively, I reached back for my bow slung across my back and immediately regretted it. Sharp, jabbing pain laced down my arm as a painful reminder that my shoulder hadn't healed yet. Hugging my left arm to my chest, I drew _Firefall _with my right and flattened myself behind a tall crag of rock, peeking back at my attacker.

To my immense relief, it wasn't Herobrine. Instead, there floated a...well, a giant floating pile of dusty gold sticks. It was a creature made up entirely of a floating head hovering over two rows of rods that rotated around the center.

The _Chronicles_ called creatures like this "Blazes". I found out why the next moment.

The blaze floated a little closer and growled at me, a sound that was like a blast of steam blown through a metal pipe. I could see the head clearly now, an orb wreathed in fire that bounced up and down over the rods. But as I watched, the two eyespots turned towards me and flames ignited all over the creature, whooshing up between the rods. That meant it was going to attack. I gulped and got ready to move.

A fireball flew dead at me. I gathered myself and sprang, letting the fireball explode where I was just a fraction of a second ago. Two more followed in rapid succession, chasing after me and nearly blasting me off my feet as I ran in a wide arc around the creature. Hefting _Firefall _one-handed, I turned and took a running leap, slashing down hard.

Diamond cracked down on gold and the flames died down on the blaze as several of the rods fell away broken. It blew a puff of hot air at me, but no more fireballs came. Pulling free, I stabbed again as hard as I could with just one good arm and struck between the eyes. The blaze gave one last metallic gasping cry and vanished in a cloud of white smoke.

That blaze was down, but I could hear others nearby. Taking cover under a low overhang of rock, I fished out my polished iron helm from my inventory and quickly tied my hair back, settling the helm on my head. Wiping my sweating palms on the rough rock, I rolled back out of my hiding place and retrieved my sword, jogging in the direction that I hoped led away from the blazes.

My path took me up a rise where I was able to see where the blazes had come from. At the base of the hill, across a narrow moat of lava, there was a dark brick tower with a small block on a pedestal- the kind that I recognized from dungeons in the Overworld. A spawner. The blaze had come from that and spotted me where I had been walking in a little valley. From my vantage point, I could see a walled-in causeway leading from the tower into a sea of lava, threading its way over the boiling stone below to a massive fortress in the distance.

I swallowed. There was no mistaking who that fortress belonged to.

Easing down the other side of the hill, I began to seriously consider what to do. I couldn't build a portal back home- I didn't have the resources I needed. Defeating Herobrine was _well _out of the question. But then I thought of something that I hadn't dared think about in weeks.

Dragon was here.

It only made sense that if he had been kidnapped and taken to the Nether that he would be in the Nether fortress. I knew that I couldn't wander around the Nether forever- Herobrine would just find me eventually. So, sword in hand, I set off towards the only real goal I had had since falling into this Notch-forsaken place: Finding Dragon.

The cavern overhead arced down and walled off all view of and path to the fortress except for a small window, and the only way to get through that was to go through the blazes. There was no clear way to reach the fortress, with nothing but solid, sheer walls on all sides and a sea of lava barring all attempts at entry.

But hidden in a cleft in the cavern wall, I found a path of dark bricks leading into a tunnel through the wall. Sheathing my sword, I cautiously stepped onto the path, slipping into the tunnel.

I almost cried with relief once inside. The temperature inside the tunnel was at least a dozen degrees cooler than outside, with the bricks paving the path radiating blissful cool. The tunnel itself stretched on for dozens of yards, and the path thrust out onto a bridge spanning the lava on the other side of the walls. I could hear it bubbling and popping where I was. With one last glance back to make sure I wasn't being followed, I set of down the tunnel and out onto the bridge.

I crossed out onto a hatchwork of bridges and causeways supported on piers dizzyingly high above the boiling seas glowing below. Navigating wasn't difficult- the paths were all laid out in a grid with only a few ruptures here and there. In just minutes, I had reached the gates of the fortress.

I gazed up at the heavy brick portcullis in wonder as I mounted the stairs into the fortress, marveling at the sheer scale of the structure. From the outside, the line of dark brick walls and towers seemed to stretch on forever. But now that I was inside, I was faced with a small tight corridor. I took a few wary steps inward- they didn't echo. Curious, I peeked around the corner into the next hall. It was the same.

From there, I began to search the fortress, looking for anything that might lead me to Dragon- a scrap of blue cloth, a prison cell where he might be kept,- but I found nothing. Nothing but those formless brick walls and floors and ceilings. It began to dawn on me after I turned to one dead end after another that this may be one very, very elaborate trap. Even if Herobrine wasn't inside the fortress, all he had to do was lead me here, and I would be trapped. This fortress, I realized as I tried to find my way out, had been deliberately built up to be monotonous with no landmarks.

It was a perfect labyrinth.

Panic rose in my throat, and I backpedaled, but it was too late. I was lost. There were no windows, no doors, nothing at all to show me a way out. Then I heard a sound that made me freeze.

Footsteps.

Peering around a corner, I saw the back of a tall, black-shirted figure disappear into a door at the end of a corridor. Definitely Herobrine. No mistaking that. Taking a deep breath, I turned and went the opposite direction.

The next turn I made seemed to be slightly luckier than the ones I had made earlier. This corridor had barred windows at intervals on one side, giving a magnificent view of a number of lava falls cascading into the seas outside. I hoped that this would mean a door or some other exit leading outside.

I knew now that there was no chance of me finding Dragon in here alive.

My luck ran out as quickly as it had come- the hall ended in a dead end with no door to the outside. Frustrated, I turned back the way I came and went down a different hallway, this one branching off into several side halls leading to Aether-knows-where. I walked quickly and focused on breathing evenly, listening to the even tapping of my boots hitting the bricks below.

"Looking for someone?" Herobrine sneered.

I gasped and whirled, stumbling back a few paces into the side of the hall.

Herobrine was standing _right next to me _in the mouth of a short side hall.

Regaining my senses, I backed up quickly and whipped _Firefall _from its sheath, rolling my left shoulder. I refused to think about what was happening, focusing only on my sword in my hand and the enemy slowly advancing before me.

Of course, some small part of me recalled my last battle and nagged at me. It told me that I wasn't going to win of course, this was _Herobrine. _How could I possibly win against a god? This was going to be another humiliation.

This was certainly going to hurt.

"You never cease to amaze me, Huntress," Herobrine said slowly, punctuating each word with one slow, deliberate step towards me. He extended one delicate, long-fingered hand to the side and I watched as his heavy black sword formed in his hand, hilt to tip.

I wasn't going to let him guide the battle this time.

Breathing evenly, I sprang forward and slashed hard, moving as fast as I could. My sword sliced right through him...and he vanished from sight.

An illusion.

A finger tapped my shoulder. I whirled and slashed again, but he parried my stroke and hit me dead in the throat with the stiffened fingers of his other hand. I stumbled back, choking, and he pounced.

I rolled away from the first stroke, but while I was still facing away from him and leaning on the wall to regain my balance, he struck hard and fast. From behind, his sword struck and sheared through my armor and through my good shoulder, protruding through the front where I could see it. I howled in pain, my sword slipping from my grasp and clattering to the floor.

He braced his hand against the flat of my back and pulled his sword out, leaving fresh pain in its wake. I groaned and sank to my knees, dizzy as blood slicked down my chest, clotting on my chain mail. I scrabbled for my sword with my left hand, hissing as the muscles of the wrenched shoulder twisted and protested. The sword was unsteady in my less dextrous hand, the hilt slippery with blood. Gasping for air, I struggled to my feet again, using the wall for support.

"Whenever you're ready, Son of Steve," Herobrine called in a mock friendly tone from behind. I clenched my teeth and turned to face him, my right arm hugged tightly to my side. I knew exactly what he was doing to me, and gave him a look of sheer hatred.

He was toying with me. He could have killed me at least sixteen times over now, and instead he was letting me stand up and wear myself out against him.

I wasn't going to have it.

Holding _Firefall _carefully, I paced around him, and we circled briefly. Before we had completed a full circuit, I charged, aiming more for his sword arm than his torso. He parried the blow almost carelessly, raising an eyebrow patronizingly.

"Wise, but you'll have to do better than that." He said, and then he seemed to stop and consider something as he parried another blow without even looking at me. "In fact," he began, and suddenly his free arm snapped out as quick as a viper.

My surprised cry was cut off as his fingers closed around my throat, iron-hard. He lifted me up in the air briefly and slammed me against the wall, forcing me to lose my grip on _Firefall. _Eyes wide, I grasped the arm he was holding me with with my good arm and used it as leverage to kick out at him. He dodged my helpless struggles gracefully, swinging his hips outwards and then pulling me close, close enough that our faces almost touched. His jaw-length hair fell forward as he leaned in towards me, brushing the sides of my face.

"You should learn when the proper time is to give up, brave little Huntress," he whispered in my ear. Then he lifted me up again and slammed me back against the wall. My head cracked against the bricks, sending a starburst across my vision that didn't quite fade. My chest was beginning to burn from lack of air. I couldn't find the strength to try and kick him again. My body wouldn't respond. But as he cocked his head to regard me, I decided that I couldn't give up just yet.

I worked up a mouthful of blood and saliva and spat it in his face.

Herobrine's head jerked back as if in surprise, and he wiped his face with the back of the hand that still held his sword, examining it. Without warning, the iron grip around my throat was gone and, without support, I fell to the ground. My legs buckled beneath me and I fell at Herobrine's feet, gasping. He sighed.

"I see 'giving up' is a concept completely foreign to you," he mused as he watched me reach for my sword. With one nonchalant foot, he kicked the diamond sword out of my reach, sending it skidding down the corridor. I mentally swore. "No matter then-" His foot landed heavily on the small of my back and I involuntarily froze, knowing what was coming.

"You'll make nice company for your friend Dragon, at least."

The sword whooshed down.

* * *

My fingers are cramping already. I'll write more when-

Wait, there's someone else down here.

I'll write more later.

* * *

**Hello, and welcome back to another session of Amanda the Huntress's final notes to a Huntress's Tale chapter after a looooog hiatus. I know, I know. It's been NaNoWrMo prep season and BOY have I been busy! Luckily, I still found time to squeeze in this new and exciting chapter, didn't I, my darling loyal readers? **

**As a farewell note, I would like to remind you to kindly leave a review if you enjoyed this chapter, or if you didn't, leave a review anyway. This was a nice chapter, no? Lots of action, lots of fun, Oh-God-what-next sort of feelings for Huntress. **

**By the way, have you been checking up on my friend BlackDragon41 or QueenCelina33 lately? They have been out a while and are just back to publishing now too. It's been killer for all of us, but we're all back, so go check out what they've written too! I'm not the only _positively fabulous _Herobrine fanfic writer on this site, after all!**

**In summary, Please leave a FOLLOW if you want more and a REVIEW if you enjoyed and I will see you later, my friends!**

**Huntress out.**


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